‘Why isn’t Mohamed Salah playing for Egypt in the 2024 Olympics in Paris?’
The Egyptian men’s football team takes on Spain in the Olympics in Paris on Tuesday and the team’s biggest star will be absent. The reason why is curious.
There will be 16 nations vying for the gold medal in the 2024 Olympic Games. Yet, what has now become clear is that several of them will be affected by the conflict between the rules of the Olympic game and the governing body of football worldwide, FIFA.
Mohamed Salah’s Olympic hopes dashed again by Liverpool FC
Fans of Liverpool are likely very pleased to see their star forward, Mohamed Salah, participating in the club’s pre-season training camp where is said to be in “phenomenal” shape. On the other hand, Egyptians will almost certainly be looking at the situation with bitter envy. Indeed, reports indicate that the country had every intention of taking the 32-year-old goal scorer as one of three overage players to the Olympics in Paris. Incidentally, Japan had the same idea for Salah’s club teammate Wataru Endo but that didn’t materialize either, leaving the question ‘why?’
The answer, though disappointing for both nations is simple. The football tournament in the Olympic Games is not a FIFA-sanctioned competition, meaning clubs are under no obligation to release their players for international games. According to reports, talks did occur with both players but ultimately the decision was taken to have them report for pre-season training. Incidentally, Salah was also set to be the flag-bearer of Egypt during the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Games, a move that would have cemented his legacy even further.
It’s also worth noting that this is not the first time that the talismanic Egyptian has been denied participation in the Olympics. Back in 2021, Egypt attempted to include him in its team for Tokyo but just as they did with this year’s edition of the global event, Liverpool shot down the plan. To that end, the Pharaohs will take on La Roja witout their best player, while he himself will continue to prepare in the United States with his club for the coming 2024-25 English Premier League season which begins with a game against Ipswich Town.